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Join us for the Spring Illinois Stories Bus Tour on Thursday, May 29th. We'll depart from the CVS at Broadway and 30th in Quincy at 8:30 AM and will return by 5:00 PM that day. Tickets are $60, which includes transportation, tours, and lunch. Call 483-7887, and ask for MJ (ext. 222) for tickets. Call soon, as seats fill up quickly!

Stops on this trip in western Illinois will include favorite past Illinois Stories features. We begin with a drive to Warsaw to tour the Kibbe Biological Station, then head to Hamilton to tour the Western Illinois Threshers, visit the Mississippi Power Dam exhibit in Keokuk, and finish in Carthage to tour the jail where Joseph Smith was murdered and the county courthouse. Midday, we'll break for lunch at a location that is TBA.

On Thursday, April 24th, Illinois Stories Host Mark McDonald will guest host SportsRadio 1450's morning program with Shawn Balint from WBBA Pittsfield from 6-8:30 AM. The usual host, Sam Maddonia, is out for the day and asked fellow broadcasters to step in and host while he's away. Be sure to call 217-529-1450 tomorrow morning and say hello to Mark; you can even let him know what your favorite Illinois Stories episodes are!

On Tuesday, April 15th at 8:00 pm, the new Ken Burns documentary "The Address" will air on Network Knowledge.

THE ADDRESS, a 90-minute feature length documentary by Ken Burns, will air on PBS in the spring of 2014. The film tells the story of a tiny school in Putney Vermont, the Greenwood School, where each year the students are encouraged to practice, memorize, and recite the Gettysburg Address. In its exploration of the Greenwood School, the film also unlocks the history, context and importance of President Lincoln’s most powerful address.

The Greenwood School students, boys ages 11-17, all face a range of complex learning differences that make their personal, academic and social progress extremely challenging. THE ADDRESS uncovers how President Lincoln's historic words motivate and engage these students a century-and-a-half after President Lincoln delivered a speech that would go on to embolden the Union cause with some of the most stirring words ever spoken.

Mr. Phillip Wagener, a History teacher at Jacksonville High School, has incorporated PBS Teacher Resources into his classroom as a Digital Innovator. The Interactive Dust Bowl site has been a favorite for immersing students in the world that they would otherwise only read about. Wagener said, "I'm committed to motivating students to become life-long learners."

Sunday, March 30th at 7:00 pm marks the premiere of Call the Midwife Season Three, followed by the premiere of Mr. Selfridge Season 2 at 8:00 pm.

This season on Call the Midwife: The third season takes viewers to 1959, the eve of the Swinging Sixties. The winds of change are sweeping through the country and the residents of Nonnatus House face some momentous changes of their own.

This season on Mr. Selfridge: It’s 1914, and Selfridge & Co. is celebrating its gala fifth anniversary. With World War I looming, the end of an era is nigh—not just for society at large but also for the close-knit team that started Selfridges. Harry is pining for Rose, who left him over his many affairs. Agnes has been sent to Paris to master display design. Henri has jumped ship for an ad agency in New York. Mr. Grove has ended his torturous trysts with Miss Mardle by eloping with Doris in accessories. Victor is trying to move on with his life. And Lady Mae has learned that her absentee husband, Lord Loxley, is back in her life.

The winter membership campaign is our most important of the year for Network Knowledge and its stations WSEC, WMEC, and WQEC.

Here’s how you can make Winterfest 2014 a success: during select pledge breaks we offer a challenge to our viewers to become members. That challenge is from you, and then we try to match your challenge dollar-for-dollar with pledges from other viewers. For example, if you make a gift of $100, we appeal to viewers to match your gift dollar-for-dollar, even if it takes a few or a handful of viewers to meet your challenge.

Network Knowledge needs $337,000 by June 30th to remain a full service station with access to all of the PBS National Program Service, otherwise we would be allowed to access only 25% of the programming. For example, if we choose to air NOVA, we would have to eliminate from our line-up 3 other programs, such as Nature, Great Performances or Antiques Roadshow.

Network Knowledge offers such an array of high quality, memorable programs, and you would hate to lose 75% of program fare previously available to you. We have a wonderful year ahead of us! Masterpiece Classic’s Season IV of Downton Abbey, and Season 10 of the Emmy-nominated Illinois Stories. PBS Newshour and Charlie Rose on the weekends as well as during the week. A Barbra Streisand concert. A new Celtic Woman concert. All new Frontline’s incomparable investigative reports, and new seasons of American Masters biographies and American Experience...

AMERICAN MASTERS CELEBRATES WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
This month, celebrate women's vast and multidisciplinary contribution to the American cultural landscape, and visit our Women's History Month webpage for behind the scenes looks at some of the most influential female cultural icons in American history. Additionally, check your local listings for rebroadcasts of American Masters episodes profiling prominent female writers Harper Lee and Margaret Mitchell, and attend our special interactive online screening of American Masters Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth, presented by ITVS and Women and Girls Lead. Director Pratibha Parmar will be in attendance to answer your questions about her stunning film.

THE FRED ROGERS COMPANY ANNOUNCES SECOND SEASON OF TOP-RATED PRESCHOOL HIT “DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD” ON PBS KIDS

25 All-New Episodes Featuring the Adventures of Daniel Tiger and his Friends in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe to Premiere Starting in 2014

Pittsburgh, PA, February 10, 2014 – There will soon be even more DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD for parents and preschoolers from coast-to-coast to love! The Fred Rogers Company has announced a second season of the ratings-winning animated hit, with 25 engaging new episodes to begin rolling out later this year, as well as new interactive games and digital experiences. Season 2 of the popular program, the first original TV series from The Fred Rogers Company since MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD, will feature a host of charming, relatable stories and catchy musical strategies that have become the show’s hallmark and helped it earn high marks among parents and preschoolers alike.

“The foundation of DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD has always been the gentle life lessons pioneered by the inimitable Fred Rogers, and the success of the series in its first season shows that Fred’s methods continue to resonate strongly with children and families today,” said Paul Siefken, Vice President, Broadcast and Digital Media, The Fred Rogers Company.

“We’re delighted to bring a whole new season of this endearing show to life for fans young and old, helping parents navigate even more everyday preschool challenges –...

New Companion Website, “Ken Burns America,” Featuring Resources For All of Burns’s Films, Also Launches in February on pbs.org

(New York, NY) – February 10, 2014 – The Ken Burns App, launched for iPad on February 10, 2014, sets the stage for an innovative look at more than two centuries of American history from a curated look at selected excerpts from the entire library of Ken Burns and Florentine Films programs seen on PBS stations nationwide. The app can be found in the Apple app store at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ken-burns/id723854283?mt=8

Marking the filmmaker’s first complete catalog foray into the digital space, the Ken Burns App is one part of a digital initiative that will enable fans to experience and explore the films as never before. Also in February PBS, Burns’s broadcasting network since his first film, THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE aired in 1982, and WETA, the Washington, DC public television station, will officially launch a newly created website dedicated exclusively to the work of Burns and Florentine Films — a comprehensive destination culled from Burns’s more than 25 documentary films.